Vinitours

Saturday, 24 January 2015

Cantina Tudernum is one of the largest wineries in Umbria, founded in 1958 it is located on the Umbrian hillside next to the river Tiber in the beautiful historic city of Todi.
The original company was started by 57 vineyard owners with a total of over 650 hectares of vines under cultivation, this was then reduced to 400 hectares in 1995 and this is still the current size of the vineyard.
In the last ten years Cantina Tudernum has worked closely with the University of Milan to research the rare Grechetto di Todi grape variety which is different from the normal Grechetto grape varieties used and grown in other parts of Umbria. Research is currently taking place to rediscover the Grechetto Nero grape type, bring this lost variety back into production and make the wine produced from this grape available once again.
The winery has been at the forefront of wine making in Umbria and has continued this trend over the past few years by investing more than 2 million Euros in new machinery and infrastructure.
Their constant striving to produce only the best wines that are typical of this part of Umbria has allowed them to offer exceptional value to customers with a range of wines that offer a choice of basic wines through to the very highest quality wines available.

The Cantina produces a wide range of excellent wines including a basic Bianco, two white Grechetto wines including the superb Grechetto di Todi Superiore, a sparkling white wine, a basic Rosso, a Todi Rosso, several other reds including a Sangiovese and Merlot, a Rosato and a Sagrantino di Montefalco.
The wines produced by Cantina Tudernum are now sold in other countries in the EU and also in the USA and we hope that the Grechetto will be available in the UK in 2015. Over the past few years the Cantina has picked up many awards for the quality of their wines in Italy and abroad they have included a prestigious Decanter award in the UK and several awards in Germany, the US and also in China.
Cantina Tudernum will strive to continue with improvements to their already high quality wines and we look forward to the wines from this excellent wine producer becoming better known to the wine buying public in the UK.

Sunday, 12 October 2014

Terracruda Vini in the Pesaro province of the Le Marche region was only set up in the year 2000 when they purchased 20 hectares of vineyard and land near the village of Fratte Rosa and the actual wine making at the winery only being started in 2005.
When they purchased the land there were already 10 hectares of indigenous vines under cultivation and the team then planted local varieties of vines on the remaining 10 hectares, then they started their own project of CDO wine production and the revival of older grape cultivars found in that part of Italy.
The winery has been built below ground which allows for a constant temperature to be maintained which is very important in the wine making process and also is very energy efficient which is part of the ethos of sustainability at Terracruda.
The team at Terracruda are passionate about producing wines that are typical of their area of Le Marche and also in making these wines with great care by using sustainable methods to enhance the land and local area, this also includes the use of green energy throughout the winery complex.
To produce their fantastic wines they work closely with natural cycles and products also using careful husbandry of the vines with all the grapes they use being hand picked in accordance with the local wine making traditions.

The wines produced at Terracruda use local varieties of grapes found in this part of the Marche region and include the Bianchello and Aleatico varieties as well as more common Sangiovese grapes found in many part of Italy and elsewhere in the world. In partnership with the University of Ancona they have also replanted several old indigenous grape cultivars which had almost disappeared and with these grapes they have produced unblended wines typical of of the types produced in the past in the Marche region.
Terracruda make a wide range of wines, several superb whites, reds, sparkling and dessert, many of the wines they produce and since 2006 they have won awards in both Italy and in other parts of the world, including being commended at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards 2014. The care and skill with which they make their wines at Terracruda shows through to the amount of awards that they have won since they first produced wines which the public and trade could buy and taste.

We were very pleased when Terracruda agreed to be one of the producers showcasing their wines at the Festivaldelgusto held in September 2014 at the Castello di Monterado in Le Marche, Italy. Along with several other local wine producers and they were one of the main attractions of the event with their superb range of wines that were tasted by the guests and trade buyers present that evening.
For anyone with further interest in the Terracruda wines, their winery and the Marche region Terracruda have renovated and restored an old country house and this beautiful old property now offers four separate apartments as luxurious holiday rentals
In our opinion Terracruda vini are one of the best wine makers that we have come across in the Marche region and the whole team are to be congratulated on the wines they produce and hopefully their wines will become available in the UK in the next year.

Saturday, 23 August 2014

Humbleyard Vineyard is a small English wine maker producing excellent white and rose wines based in the beautiful county of Norfolk in the east of England.
The first vines were planted in 2010 with further plantings in 2011 and 2012 and Humbleyard now has over 10,000 vines planted on eight acres of land near the village of Mulbarton just outside the historic city of Norwich.
They had successfully grown soft fruit on south facing slopes over thirty five years, and as the site was virtually frost free, warm and well drained in 2010 it was decided to start planting a vineyard which would eventually grow nine varieties of grapes, including the Chardonnay, Rondo, Solaris and Pinot Noir grapes. Some of the grape varieties are well known and some a new clones and they have all been chosen because in the English climate they all make excellent white, red and sparkling wines all with different styles ranging from medium dry to very dry.

The vines are grown in the double guyot system which gives an upwardly trained canopy throughout the summer and this allows the grapes to produce an excellent balance of sugars and acidity at harvest time in September and October.
Humbleyard's range of wines include several that have already been awarded Protected Designation of Origin status and the east Anglian region is recognised for growing superb Baccus grapes, a variety which has a distinctly English flavour!
In 2012 the Hannant Rose was awarded Protected designation of Origin and won the prestigious 2012 East of England Cants Trophy for best rose wine.
Their range of sparkling white and rose wines are expected to be on sale in 2015 and there are great hopes for these wines as they areundergoing secondary fermentation at the Wiston winery in Sussex under the expert guidance of Dermot Sugrue.

English wines have come on in quality and variety over the past few years, with some English sparkling wines even beating French wines at International awards and tastings. White and rose wines are the wines that are mainly produced in England as the climate is not warm enough to produce decent red wines as yet, but with gentle global warming this situation might change in the future!
Humbleyard vineyard sell their wines through several outlets in Norfolk and also take part in tasting events throughout the year such as the prestigious Norfolk food festival held in the county each September.
Several smaller retail outlets also sell their superb range of still and sparkling wines including Reno wines of Wymondham and the Grove at Cromer. The well known English whisky company also now stock Humbleyard wines at their shop in East Harling.

Friday, 11 July 2014

Cantina Colli Ripani based near the beautiful town of Ripatransone already make an excellent range of wines which are mainly typical of the south of the Marche region where they are based, but recently they have launched a new range of organic wines to meet the ever increasing demand for organic wines by both the public and also trade clients.
In conjunction with the launch of the new wines they have also had engaged a new designer to update their bottle labels for the organic wines and also for their promotional material and wine boxes. This new look to the bottles and other material has brought the companies organic offering right up to date, this also includes the use of renewable energy to power some of the wine making processes and lighter, environmentally friendly glass bottles
The team at Colli Ripani have recognised that the wine buying public are becoming increasingly interested in organic and biodynamic wines so they have increased the amount of organic wine they now produce and can offer three fine wines in their new organic range.
There are three wines in the current organic range being offered by the company, these include a white Marche IGT Passerina, and two red wines, a Rosso Piceno DOC and a Marche IGT Sangiovese.

The wines are all produced in the south of the Marche region near the famous small town of Ripatransone and other surrounding villages in the Ascoli Piceno province, all the pruning of the vines and harvesting is carried out by hand, and the vineyards are constantly monitored for any signs of disease or infestation in order to guarantee a truly excellent final product.
Cantina Colli Ripani is a medium sized co operative made up of many small wine producers in the local area around Ripatransone who care deeply about the land they farm and the vineyards they own so this ensures that all the good practices that are seen in organic wine production are carried out in the making of these excellent organic wines.
On a recent visit to the Cantina we tried the white Passerina IGT which is produced using only the Passerina grape variety, this was a lovely well balanced wine which would be suitable for fish dishes and also with meats such as chicken and pork.

The company has been expanding over the past few years and now sell their wines in other parts of Europe, the USA, also more recently in China and Japan. We are pleased that with our help they also now sell in the UK at a specialist wine merchant in central London and we hope to also introduce their wines into Norwich is the east of England too.
Cantina Colli Ripani have a young dynamic sales team and are a very proactive company who are always pleased to work with others to promote their wines to new customers and countries,because of this we hope to have a small selection of their organic wines at our wine and food events that we will hold together with Olivaverde and Livinginlemarche in London over the next six months.

Sunday, 29 June 2014

We have been involved with promoting Italian wines in the East of England over the past five years and our special passion has been for wines from central Italy, especially the Marche region where we have a base in the beautiful Adriatic resort of Senigallia. Through our many contacts in London and the East of England we have facilitated the wines of some excellent Marche wine producers to be stocked by a well known and fast expanding specialised Italian wine merchant in London and hope to set up similar deals with other Marche wine producers in the future.
Now we are especially pleased that recently we have been able to also help one of the most innovative small wine companies in Norfolk source some outstanding organic wines from several producers from the Marche region. this company is now in the process of opening a new base in Norfolk in the market town of Wymondham near Norwich but has advanced plans to roll out a similar operation across East Anglia and eventually into the London area.
As part of the events that Vinitours will be holding over the next few months, as well as our normal wine and olive oil tastings and workshops we will also be promoting this Norfolk based company at our events in Norfolk and also London, these include events in the Forum in Norwich, Maida Hill Place in West London and wine and olive oil tastings in other towns across East Anglia and Cambridgeshire.

Norfolk is one of the fastest growing counties in the UK and the city of Norwich which is the capital of the county is one of the most vibrant and popular cities in England and also has a large and diverse student population at the world famous University of East Anglia. Having a in depth knowledge of the county of Norfolk and the city of Norwich will allow Vinitours to promote the wines of the Marche region to a younger and more affluent customer base and also allow us to roll out a series of workshops and tasting events which would be impossible in the already crowded London wine scene.
Over the past three years we have held several Italian wine and food events at the Raffles restaurant chain in Norwich and on September 7th along with the help of Slow Food Norwich we will be holding a special event at the The Library restaurant as part of the Norwich Food Festival.
Another part of our ongoing growth of our tours and promotions is that in the past few weeks we have made progress with setting up a new working relationship with a French wine expert who will be working closely with us on holding tasting events and workshops on both French and Italian wines all across the county of Norfolk, and our area of expertise will be to promote the lesser known wines of Le Marche especially organic wines from small artisan producers.

We look forward to working with all our current friends and producers in the Marche region to carry on promoting and advertising the wonderful and diverse wines of the region to a wider public in the UK and also in other countries we have contacts with including the USA , Australia, Ireland and Holland.
Vinitours will continue over the next year with organising events for small artisan wine producers from the Marche region and where possible with wines only produced by organic and biodynamic methods of production, and we are sure that we will help a new market and public to be made aware of the wide range of fabulous wines that come from this beautiful part of Italy.

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

The Le Marche wine producer Casale Vitali has been producing wine since 1970 at their winery and vineyard near the southern Le Marche village of Montelparo. Alfredo and Guiliano Vitale now have twenty hectares of vines under cultivation, ten hectares of fruit trees and a further ten hectares of olive trees and land used to grow vegetable crops, they have also been joined by Gabriele another family member who has brought a new drive to the business and also has married the latest wine making techniques with the more traditional methods of wine production.
The azienda and winery is just outside the pretty hilltop village of Montelparo which is situated in the south of Le Marche, being close to the foothills of the Sibillini mountains and yet still under thirty minutes from the Adriatic coast to the east.
The Vitali family have been living near Montelparo for generations and now as relatively new wine producers they are very are passionate about their wines, all of which are typical of this part of the Marche region, and they take enormous care in producing wines that have a low environmental impact on the land in this beautiful part of Le Marche.

The wines produced at Casale Vitali are al from grapes grown by the family on the land near Montelparo village and the grape varieties they use include Sangiovese and Montepulciano for the red wines and Pecorino, Passerina and Trebbiano for the white wines.
The grape varieties grown at Casale Vitali only produce a relatively low yield per hectare which allows a very high quality of grape on the vine to be achieved and at harvest time the grapes are crushed using a soft pressing technique and low temperature fermantation.
The wines produced in the south of the Marche region by Casale Vitale are a red Rosso Piceno, a Marche Sangiovese and a Piceno, then a sparkling Spumante and two white wines, a Passerina and Pecorino, all these wines being typical of this area.
The azienda also produces a small quantity of extra virgin olive oil which is only sold locally and they also grow a wide variety of fruit, mainly peaches, cherries, nectarines, plums and apples.
All the wines produced at the winery of Casale Vitale can be tasted on site as there is now have a purpose built tasting room and are always happy to welcome visitors interested in their wines.

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

The winemaker Vigna degli Estensi is located in the Marche region of eastern Italy with their vineyards and winery being close to the small village of Roncitelli in the province of Ancona. They are part of the local group in that part of Marche, the Terra di Frattula whose members include other small artisan wine producers as well as olive oil, bread, meat and other typical local food producers.
Vigna degli Estensi was the original idea of Stefano Bondanelli who now has two associates, Laura Fagioli and Laura Brignone, and in the summer of 2013 the company name was finally registered as a legal trademark.
Stefano changed from his original career as a geologist as his passion for wine took over his life and went on the take many courses in the study of wine making including a doctoral course in viticulture and oenology at Bologna University.
From the outset the goal of this excellent wine maker has been to produce excellent wines typical of this area of Le Marche and to work in ways that are sustainable and good for the environment.

The modern winery at Vigna Degli Estensi is equiped with the latest technology, with stainless steel tanks in conjunction with oak barrels, as well as a modern inert gas saturation system which minimises oxidation in the wine making process.
The vineyards extend over five hectares, most of the grapes being Lacrima and Verdicchio cultivars, but also with a small amount of Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Fiano varieties. The new vineyard was planned and planted with extensive co operation with the plant sciences department at the University of Bologna, this included choosing rootstocks that were compatible with the type of soil and geology of the land.
All the grapes used in the production of the wines are picked by hand and then put through the stringent and careful process to make the selection of six wines that Vigna Degli Estensi produce. The wines they produce are three white Verdicchio's, two red Lacrima di Morro d'Alba wines and a Vino of Visciole, all typical of this part of the Marche region.